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A 63.1 kg weight-watcher wishes to climb a mountain to work off the equivalent of a large piece of chocolate cake rated at 797 (food) Calories. How high must the person climb? The acceleration due to gravity is 9.8m/s^2 and 1 food Calorie is 10^3 calories. Answer in units of km.

User Kimmi Dhingra
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1 Answer

21 votes
21 votes

Given:

the mass of the weight-watcher is


m=63.1\text{ kg}

The work off equivalent to


W=797\text{ food}

Required: height climbed by the person

Step-by-step explanation:

first we need to change the work into calories.

it is given that


1\text{ food=10}^3\text{ calories}

then the work done is


W=797*10^3\text{ calories}

now change this work done from calories to joules.

we know that


1\text{ calorie = 4.2 J}

Then the work done is ,


\begin{gathered} W=797*10^3*4.2 \\ W=3347.4*10^3\text{ J} \end{gathered}

as the person climbs to the mountain the work done is stored as potential energy.

we assume that a person attained some height h,

then the work-energy relation,


W=mgh

Plugging all the values in the above relation and solve for h, we get


\begin{gathered} 3347.4*10^3\text{ J=63.1 kg}*9.8\text{ m/s}^2* h \\ h=(3347.4)/(618.38) \\ h=5.41\text{ m} \end{gathered}

Thus, the height climbed by the person is


5.4\text{1 m}

User Bmilesp
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